Daily Devotional: Joy and Peace

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

December brings the season of joy and peace. Those words are written all over Christmas cards, storefronts, and sung in carols. What a lovely tradition to focus on these qualities for an entire month. But truly, joy and peace aren’t seasonal. They are timeless and eternal gifts given by our Creator, the God of hope, when we trust Him. That one little word -trust- holds the key to unlocking joy and peace in our lives every single day of the year. When things happen that we don’t understand, will we trust Him? Only then we will find peace and joy. When life is hard, people are mean, and we feel abandoned and alone, will we trust His love for us? When money is tight, disease attacks, relationships are broken, can we trust that He is good and His plans for us are good. Can we really trust Him? No one said trust is easy. But when we choose to trust God in the midst of circumstances, He sends a calm assurance that somehow everything’s going to be okay. He gives us hope in a future. And in the midst of that hope, we find joy and we find peace.